Drafting mechanism for textile fibers



y 21, 3 J. NOGUERA 2,645,823

DRAFTING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE FIBERS Filed Feb. 8, 1952 Mm P JOSEPH ll/DGUERA 0% #M Patented July 21, 1953 DRAFTIN G MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE FIBERS Joseph Noguera, Salford, England, assignor to Casablancas High Draft Company Limited, Salford, Manchester, England, a British com- Application February 8, 1952, Serial No. 270,653 In Great Britain April 13, 1951 6Claims. (01.19-139) This invention relates to drafting mechanisms for textile fibres of the kind including consecutive pairs of superposed rollers and a weighted underclearer having a surface which can be 110- sitioned, under the influence of said weight, against the under-periphery of at least two of the bottom rollers of the roller pairs for the purpose of clearing cotton tufts and other waste from said bottom rollers.

It is common practice at the present time to position such underclearers by means of a weight having an aperture therein through which one end of a length of cord or the like is threaded and held against withdrawal by knotting the said end, the cord or the like being passed over the neck of a bottom roller and having its other end threaded through an aperture in the underclearer and similarly knotted against Withdrawal. The weight is thus held suspended by the cord or the like and exerts an upward pull on the underclearer. This simple arrangement has proved extremely effective although it does suffer from certain inherent disadvantages among which may be mentioned the difliculty, occasioned by the limited space available between the bottom rollers and roller beam, of so knotting the cord ends with the weights in position as to ensure that the latter are suspended as near as possible to the correct height, the need to unfasten the cords from the weights, or the clearers, when the clearers have to be removed from the machine and, finally, a tendency of the weights to spin around, if accidentally knocked, and thereby gather and twist up waste or loose fibres.

A main object of the present invention is to obviate the foregoing disadvantages by the provision of generally improved positioning means for such underclearers.

According to the present invention there is provided a drafting mechanism of the kind specified for textile fibres wherein means for operatively positioning the underclearer against the under-peripheral portions of at least two bottom rollers comprises a length of cord or the like which has at least one end secured to the underclearer and which extends up between said two bottom rollers, over the top of one of the latter and has its other end so anchored as to provide a dependent loop or sling within whicha weight of diabolo r pulley-like form is suspended, the arrangement being such that the said weight can readily be positioned in or removed from the said loop, without unfastenin either end of the cord or the like, for assembly, cleaning, dismantling and like purposes.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into efiect two embodiments thereof will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation, partially broken away, illustrating the relevant portion of a drafting mechanism, the underclearer being shown operatively positioned against the under-peripheral portions of the two bottom rollers by the means according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the underclearer shown in the lowered or cleaning position,

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partially broken away, of the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, the top drafting rollers and roller beam being omitted,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but illustrating an alternative positioning means for theunderclearer in accordance with the invention, and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the underclearer in the lowered or cleaning position.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figures 1 to 3, two'consecutive pairs of superposed top and bottom drafting rollers I, la, 2, 2a forming part of a drafting system are provided with an underclearer 3 which is operatively positioned, as shown in Figure 1, so as to bear or rub against the under-peripheral portions of the bottom drafting rollers la and 2a. The underclearer 3 may conveniently be composed of a wood backing faced with flannel 3a which serves to rub oil the loose fibresand other waste substances from the bottom drafting rollers during the operation of the latter.

The underclearer is held up against the peripheries of the bottom rollers l a and 2a by means of a length of cord, string or the like .or hide or other suitable strip 4, the two ends of which are threaded through apertures in the flannel 3a and underclearer 3 and knotted as at 4a to prevent their withdrawal therefrom. The cord or like loop thus formed is passed up between the bottom rollers Ia and Zaopposite the neck portions of the latter and is passed over the neck I b of the bottom roller la to provide a sling which is dependent from the side of the roller Ia which is remote from the roller 2a. The length of the cord 4 or the like is such that the bottom of the loop or sling is positioned above the roller beam 5 when the underclearer is in its operative position. Within the loop there is suspended a diabolo or pulley like weight 5 which is preferably in the form an oblate spheroid having a central circumferential groove 6a therearound as illustrated. The cord 4 is arranged to seat in this groove 6a, the weight finding itsown level'in the suspending loop or sling in the manner of a diabolo.

For cleaning purposes, the underclearer 3 may be drawn down as shown in Figure 2 and, in addition, the particular arrangement also enables the underclearer to be removed altogether if desired merely by unlooping the weight 6 from the cord and withdrawing the cord loop over the top of the roller neck lb. Since the weight 6 is suspended from a double cord or the like, each cord strand bears with only half the normal amount of friction against the roller neck lb and will theoretically last twice as lon as in cases where only a single strand is employed.

In Figures 4 and 5 there is illustrated an alternative arrangement for suspending the weight 6 which has the advantage both of leaving the weight free for ready removal orpositioning and also enabling the underclearer 3 to be pulled down twice as far as a given upward movement of the weight for cleaning purposes. In this embodiment the cord or the like 4 has only one end threaded through correspondin apertures in the flannel 3a and underclearer 3 and knotted as at 41), the other end of the cord 40 being attached to a rail I of the machine.

It will be appreciated that, with the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3, the knots 4a can be made before the underclearer is positioned on the machine, it being a relatively simple matter subsequently to thread the cord loop over the roller neck ib 'and position the weight 6. This makes it possible to adjust the length of the cord more readily than hitherto and ensure that the weight hangs as nearly as possible at the correct height. Similarly, with the arrangement shown in Figures 4 and 5 the cord can be knotted as at 4b against withdrawal from the underclearer 3 before the latter is positioned in the machine and then the other end of the cord, after being passed over the roller neck lb, can readily be secured to the rail prior to the positionin of the weight. A considerable additional advantage over the known arrangement is thus afforded since the limited working space available between the bottom drafting rollers and the roller beam makes the tying of cord ends difiicult when the weights have first to be positioned thereon as is normally the case.

A further advantage of the arrangements according to the invention is that, if the weights are accidentally knocked by hand, they have little tendency to spin around and become entangled with waste and loose fibres as frequently occurs with the known underclearer positioning means.

I claim:

1. A drafting mechanism for textile fibres including consecutive pairs of superposed drafting rollers, an underclearer shaped to bear in an operative position against under-peripheral portions of at least two of the bottom rollers of said roller pairs, a length of cord which has at least one end secured to the underclearer, is passed up between said bottom rollers, over the top of one of the latter and has the other end anchored to a part of the mechanism to provide a sling which depends from an outer side of said bottom rollers, and a weight in the form of a diabolo which is removably suspended in said sling so as to apply an upward pull to said underclearer whereby the latter is held inits operative position.

2. A drafting mechanism for textile fibres including consecutive pairs of superposed drafting rollers, an underclearer shaped for operative positioning against the under-peripheral portions of at least two -of the bottom rolle'rs of said roller pairs, a length of cord which has at least one end secured to said underclearer, is passed up between said bottom rollers, over the top of one of the latter and has the opposite end anchored to a part of the mechanism to provide a loop which depends from an outer side of said bottom rollers, and a weight in the form of an oblate spheroid having an annular groove therearound which forms a seating for said loop whereby said weight can be suspended in the loop, for operatively positioning the underclearer, without unfastening either end of said cord, and similarly can be lifted from the loop for cleaning, dismantling and like purposes.

3. A drafting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 in which the anchored end of said cord is attached to a part of the mechanism located on that side of the bottom roller over which the cord extends which is remote from the other said bottom rollers.

4. A drafting mechanism for textile fibres including consecutive pairs of superposed drafting rollers, an underclearer shaped for operative p0- sitioning against the under-peripheral portions of at least two of the bottom rollers of said roller pairs, a length of cord which has both ends secured to said underclearer to provide a loop which is passed up between said bottom rollers, over the top of one of the latter so that said loop depends from an outer side of said bottom rollers, and a weight in the form of an oblate spheroid having an annular groove therearound which forms a seatin for said loop, whereby said weight can be suspended in the loop, for operatively positioning the underclearer, without unfastening either end of said cord, and similarly can be lifted from the loop for cleaning, dismantling and like purposes.

5. A loading device for the underclearers of drafting mechanism in which a flexible connection to the underclearer passes slidably over a bottom roller and down the outside of such bottom roller to form a weight-supporting leg comprising a loop formed on the weight-supporting leg, and a grooved weight detachably insertable into and withdrawable from the loop for receiving the loop in the groove with the gravity descending mass of the weight closing the sides of the flexible loop into the sides of the groove to avoid tipping of the weight out of the loop.

6. In a drafting mechanism of the class wherein a weight acting through a flexible connection urges an underclearer against the under periphery of at least one bottom roller with the intermediate portion of the flexible connection slidably supported by the drafting mechanism to provide an underclearer leg attached to the underclearer and a weight leg supporting the weight, characterized by the fact that said weight leg has a loop, and the weight has an annular groove removably received in the loop.

JOSEPH NOGUERA. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

